Breaking Point
by JasperFGhost
Summary: Story is slightly AU and centers around Rachel during her senior year at McKinley High. What happens when Rachel has had enough of everything and everyone? What happens when she's reached her breaking point? Story is T but may contain some M content. Disclaimer: All characters belong to Glee.
1. Chapter 1

As Rachel walked down the halls of McKinley High that Monday morning, she had her head down, and was deep in thought. What kept replaying through the back of her mind was how bizarre Quinn behaved toward her this past Friday evening at Puck's party, and then afterwards. The party is already three days removed and she still can't stop thinking about it. And, she's slightly terrified of running into Santana Lopez today, because of what transpired that night.

_She remembers being surprised when she got invited to the party by Puck, who had come up to her after glee. _

_With a smirk on his lips, and raised eyebrows, he says, "Make sure you come to my party tonight, my little Jewish Princess." "I'll personally make sure you have a good time!" Then he winks at her and walks out the door. _

_While she was secretly thrilled to get a personal invite from Puck to one of his parties, which were supposedly really wild and fun, she was not too keen on going. After all, nothing good has ever come from her being around their small group of Glee Cheerios while they've been drinking, especially Quinn Fabray and Santana. So, for this reason, she usually steers clear of these parties on the rare occasion that she does get invited. _

_But that night, she decides to go, and once arrived, she rang the doorbell. It never occurs to her that people don't usually ring the doorbell at one of Puck's parties, they just go on in, but she shows her manners. And to her surprise, Quinn answered the door. _

_Rachel was dressed that night at Kurt's insisting, in a little black dress that hugged her curves perfectly. It was very tasteful but still showed off her long legs. Even Rachel had to admit the dress made her look sexy. She had this paired with some open toed black wedges. She also had on smoky eyeshadow, to highlight her brown eyes. She had her hair straightened out, and pulled over her left shoulder. She even had a matching black clutch, all Kurt's doing. And speaking of Kurt, he and Blain were already inside the party, as he'd texted her five times asking when she was coming._

_All Rachel really wanted to do was make a quick appearance. She had planned to greet most of her fellow Glee members, including Kurt, Tina, and Finn, and then leave back out the door. She wanted to leave before people, namely Quinn and Santana, could_ _become overly intoxicated, and give her a harder time than usual. But, as her bad luck would have it, there Quinn stood in the doorway, unmoving, and blatantly staring her down. She felt completely unnerved standing there waiting patiently to be let into Puck's house. In fact, she was so unnerved, she almost bolted back down the walkway to her car. Those few moments felt like ages. _

_Quinn just stood silently, looking at her. She almost seemed angry, and Rachel could barely make eye contact. She did, however, manage a shy "Hello Quinn," face turning red, and brown eyes not fully meeting green. _

_Now Rachel was already on edge, but what made matters worse was seeing Santana peek her head around the door and then come stand next to Quinn in the doorway._

_"Well, well, well! Look what the cat dragged in! It's Manhands all dressed up!" Santana was practically yelling. "Where do you think you're going RuPaul! Go back to your drag race, cause we don't want you here!" _

_Rachel's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she immediately ducked her head and averted her eyes. She could tell Santana had already been drinking because she could smell it on her breath as she towered over her. Santana moved even closer, flailing her hands, and yelling obscenities at Rachel, forcing her to back up a few steps. _

_All the while this was happening, Quinn still hadn't moved or said anything. She just continued to stare at her. _

_All Rachel could think to blurt out was, "P-Puck asked me to come, and K-Kurt made me wear this dress!" But, even as she said it, she had begun to lose her nerve. _

_At this point, Kurt, Mercedes, and Brittany must have heard Santana yelling at Rachel because they suddenly appeared at the door. But the little courage that brought Rachel to the party in the first place was now gone. She shook her head and rushed out an "I'm sorry" before promptly turning and running back to her car. Within moments, she had found her keys, started the ignition, and drove away._

_Rachel cried all the way home. She was feeling so sorry for herself, and at times she was crying so hard, she could barely see the road. A few times, she almost got into a car accident. Once she got to her house, she ran straight up to her room, even though her fathers were out until late that night. She didn't want to talk or deal with anyone, so she turned her phone off. She got undressed, completed her nightly routine, then climbed under her covers and tried her hardest to sleep. She was in for a long night of tossing and turning. _

_She still felt overwhelmed because with just a few harsh words, Santana was able to reduce her to nothing. Tonight was different for her because she usually can handle the onslaught of bullying that the Cheerios brought her way. She had always truly thought of herself as better than them, knowing that they were probably jealous of her talent. But constantly being pushed around, and called vile names, and being told you're a Lima loser, and being slushied everyday takes a toll on a person. It was finally wearing her down, and she was just about at her breaking point._

_Unbeknownst to Rachel, at Puck's house five neighborhoods away, Santana was getting chastised by most of the glee club, including Brittany. And by the end of the night, Santana and Brittany weren't speaking. She was officially in the doghouse. While __Quinn, on the other hand, had been stoic and quiet for the rest of the night. _

_Once everyone at the party had heard what happened to Rachel, most of them were not really in the party mood. __Even Mike Chang, who never really talks much, said to Tina, "I hope Rachel is alright." _

_It seems that most of the Glee club truly cares about Rachel, even if they tend to not show it during practices, or really anywhere else on school grounds. They all liked to think of themselves as a family, even if dysfunctional._

* * *

><p><em>That next day, Rachel got up early after having barely slept, and started her Saturday morning routine. Working out on her elliptical always made her feel like she could face the day. This morning, it didn't have that same charm but it did help a little. She had a full schedule of dance lessons, piano lessons, and uploading of her latest music videos to MySpace. <em>

_She decided to forgo uploading the videos, since there were mostly negative comments on all her other videos anyway. It seems people just didn't appreciate her talent, so she figures, why reward them with more? She knows she's feeling more apathetic than usual but for once, she just doesn't care! She's tired of people constantly putting her and her musical talents down! She knows she's way better than anyone else in this town and she can't wait to go out into the world and show them! New York and Broadway couldn't come soon enough! All Rachel has to do is survive senior year. But she covers her face with her hands and mutters to herself, " Who am I kidding?" She thought about the fact that it was only the first weekend of the school year, and she was already struggling. _

_She was grateful that Kurt, and Finn, and Tina were at least not afraid to be seen talking to her at school. But truthfully, they were more like close acquaintances than good friends. She has no one that she is really close to. She knows that sometimes she's exasperating to the kids in glee, especially when fighting for her beloved solos. But she had hoped to have connected fully with someone by senior year, and she was fairly lonely. It seems that no one was interested in her romantically either, so her prospects looked bleak. She just hoped to make it through till graduation. She had her applications all completed, and ready to be mailed to several colleges in New York. She couldn't wait to land her big debut on Broadway! Soon enough she will be travelling to "The Big Apple," the city where all her dreams will come true._

_As per usual, the weekend was passing by too quickly for her liking. She had just remembered to turn her phone back on that Sunday evening and was bombarded with at least a dozen messages from other glee members. She smiled and was glad to see that people did seem to care about her. But all of those messages paled in comparison to the last one. This message blew her mind because according to her logic, it could have only come from one person:_

_Kurt: Rachel why aren't you picking up your phone?! Call me ASAP!_

_Mercedes: Rachel girl, I'm sorry. That crazy ass Santana knows she ain't right! That girl is a hot mess!_

_Kurt: Rachel, I'm so sorry she said all those hateful things to you. You didn't deserve that!_

_Kurt: And I'm pissed at you too by the way! I put a lot of work into that outfit, and you didn't get to show it off!_

_Kurt: You looked gorgeous, by the way!_

_Brittany: Rach I'm sorry San said all those bad things to u :-(. I made her promise not to do it again or she won't be gettin any special lady kisses for a long long time k :-)_

_Tina: Hi Rachel. I hope you're ok._

_Finn: Hey Rach you ok? I was looking forward to hanging out tonight. Do you want me to come by?_

_Puck: Where you at my Jewish Princess?_

_Kurt: You can come back now. Brittany took Satan home. Please come back so you can hang out with me and Blaine!_

_Kurt: Finn looks sad you're not coming :-(_

_Mercedes: Girl, most of us are leaving, will you please call this boy back so he stops buggin me!_

_Tina: We missed you at the party Rachel._

_Kurt: Brittany and Satan were fighting over what she did to you and Brittany wouldn't talk to her! Haha! I'd never seen Satan pout like that! Seriously though, she looked pissed before she left!_

_Unknown: Rachel you looked really pretty tonight._

* * *

><p>She can't seem to think of anyone else that the last message would have come from but Quinn. She'd never had Quinn's phone number because she was always too afraid to ask. And if she did ask, Rachel was sure she would have been laughed at and rejected. But it was mind boggling that Quinn Fabray not only had her phone number, but that she would also send her a text message. The short message on her phone screen was one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to her. She was so thrilled by it, that she read the message over and over.<p>

But she was thoroughly confused as well because Quinn hated her, and she made it obvious to both Rachel and the whole school everyday. Some of the most foul names Rachel has ever been called came from the mouth of Quinn Fabray, and this usually in a crowded hallway or other such place at school.

In fact, she found out just last year, that all the daily slushies that get thrown on her at school came at the order of Quinn Fabray. And it seems that Santana, as her right hand, has been all too happy to carry out those orders.

Rachel has never understood why she had incurred Quinn's wrath. She does not remember ever interacting with Quinn before high school. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel has never been unkind, or hurt Quinn.

She has never stolen her boyfriend, although Quinn and Finn did brake up last year, but that had nothing to do with Rachel. And though she appreciates Finn's friendship, her interactions with him have been strictly friendly and professional as glee co-captains.

But yet, she has been bullied and victimized by the Cheerios and jocks everyday since she started at McKinley. To know that most of it was because of Quinn, hurt a lot when she first found out, because Rachel had thought that she and Quinn were coming to some kind of mutual understanding when the blond joined glee her sophomore year. Rachel stayed out of her way, in hopes that the Head Cheerio would be less mean, while continuing to act like she doesn't exist. Apparently it didn't matter at all that Rachel tried to stay out of her way. Quinn it seems, purposefully sought Rachel out, just to taunt and make fun of her. And if she wasn't doing it, one of her many henchmen were.

As she walks through the halls that Monday morning, it does finally occur to Rachel that someone other than Quinn could have sent that text message. Of course, she would be very disappointed if it was someone else because she had worked herself up to believe that just maybe, Quinn didn't hate her as much anymore. Maybe senior year would be the year that Quinn Fabray finally grows up, and Rachel Barbera Berry can finally gain some real and true friends.

Her cautious optimism was hanging on by threads. She wanted to talk to Quinn about the text message, but didn't know if she could muster up the courage. And if she did find the courage to approach the Head Cheerio, what would she say?

Rachel never got the chance to think further on the topic because she was suddenly grabbed by the arm and forced into the nearest classroom. She looked up into the fiery eyes of the one person she was hoping to avoid today. She audibly gulped as she looked around the empty classroom at everything except the person who was in front of her.

Santana quickly grabbed and turned Rachel's chin so she would look at her.

"Look midget! I'm not gonna waste my fucking breath apologizing to you!" She spat. "You just caught me on a bad night that's all! But B won't even talk to me unless I apologize, so you're gonna tell her next period that I said sorry to you!"

Santana glares directly into Rachel's eyes now. Her face so close, Rachel can feel her breath as she speaks. "And if you don't, I swear to God I will make your life a living hell!" "You don't want me going all Lima Heights Adjacent on your ass, trust me!"

She released her hold on Rachel's chin and stormed out the door. Rachel just stood there looking at the empty doorway. She couldn't move. She was stunned. She was so tired of being treated like the dirt under everyone's shoes. She raked her hands over her face to try and compose herself. As she finally went out the door, she puffed out a breath, dreading going to second period.

So, when the bell rang at the end of first period, Rachel was moving at a snails pace. Not only did she have English next period with Brittany, she also shared that class with Quinn too. And God help her if Quinn decided to harass her in class, because she just couldn't take anymore! She was at her breaking point, and she sighed because it was obviously going to be a very long day.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews, faves, and follows! The feedback is well noted and appreciated. Thanks for your patience as well, with this being my first time publishing a story and I'm still figuring out this site, and how to edit . Although it's a bit short, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter.**

As Rachel walked to her 2nd period English class that morning, she was extremely apprehensive. All she kept thinking was, "Why me?" How did she always manage to find herself in these crazy situations? She wasn't popular, but she was talented, so maybe it's jealousy, she thinks. Even so, it still didn't explain why people were always singling her out. It was like she had a magnet tied to her back that had an inexplicable pull towards trouble, and she was so very tired of it. Her "trouble magnet" did nothing but weigh her down, and cause her grief.

Because she was one of the last people to enter her class, there were only two seats left, so she was forced to sit in the far right corner of the back row. The only other seat happened to be right in between Quinn Fabray and Brittany Pierce, which there was just no way Rachel could handle sitting next to them right now.

She sat with her head down, avoiding eye contact with everyone, but she could hear someone whispering her name. She thought maybe it was Brittany trying to get her attention. But, she was saved from having to answer as their teacher, Mr. Wendell entered and stood at the front of the class.

Throughout the period, Rachel found herself having a hard time concentrating. She needed most of this class to gather up the courage to talk to Brittany about Santana, and she was still on the fence as to wether she would tell her the truth.

About halfway through class, Rachel had a note slide onto her desk from the girl siting next to her. She glanced at the note without bothering to look up, and recognized the large loopy handwriting as that of Brittany's. She read over the note, which simply said, "Did San say sorry Rach?"

Rachel couldn't help the long sigh that escaped her as she continued to look down at the note. It was now or never for her. If she lies to Brittany, Santana gets away this time with treating her horribly like she did that night at the party, and then again this morning at school. But, she thinks, maybe Santana has truly learned her lesson?

On the other hand, if Rachel tells Brittany the truth, Santana will surely make good on her threat to torment her. This was an impossible decision. In the end, Rachel decided to write her answer down on the paper and send it back to Brittany.

Rachel chances a look at Brittany just as she opens up the folded piece of paper. After reading the response, Brittany looks at Rachel and gives her a little smile. With that, she neatly folds up the paper, and focuses back on doodling in her notebook for the rest of the class.

Before Rachel turns back forward in her seat, she notices Quinn looking curiously across the room at her. Rachel meets her eyes for the first time since she got the mysterious text message and immediately starts to blush as she recalls that message. She quickly straightens her posture and turns around in her seat, further avoiding eye contact with the Head Cheerio.

Once the bell rings, Rachel gathers her things and is preparing to leave out the door, when she hears someone call her name. She immediately stops. She doesn't even have to turn around to know its Quinn because Rachel would recognize that voice anywhere. The fact that Quinn's natural speaking voice is normally so smoky and sultry, has never been lost on Rachel. Because of that, hers has always been one of the few singing voices in glee that Rachel secretly adored, even if it was not as powerful as her own.

When Quinn finally approaches her, she looks Rachel directly in the eyes, which were quite wide at this point. Though she doesn't fully know why, Rachel is slightly terrified of what this conversation may bring.

Rachel steamers out, "H-How may I assist you Quinn?"

"Rachel we need to talk, but someplace more private." Quinn states quietly, as she looks around the classroom at other students coming and going.

The shorter girl looks up and meets Quinn's eyes again before replying, "What is this about Quinn?" "Is-Is it about that text message you sent me, telling me I look pretty, because if it is, I just want to say that..."

"Shut up Manhands!" Quinn shouts.

"I never sent you any text message and I told you we'd talk someplace private!" She hisses. And Rachel can tell she's angry now.

Rachel's face drops as she is now suddenly angry too. "You know what Quinn, I don't want to talk with you in private! I don't think I want to talk to you at all!"

Rachel raises her voice as she continues, "I have had enough of you and all your-your barbarians harassing me, calling me names, and telling me what to do!"

And with those last words, she storms out of the classroom, leaving Quinn standing there staring at the back of her head.

Rachel is running down the hall now, trying to put as much distance between herself and Quinn as possible. She's upset, with tears blurring her eyes, and because she can barely see where she's going, she bumps into Karofski.

"Hey! Watch it you freak!" He yells at her, as she tries to back away. But unfortunately for Rachel, Karovski was walking with Azimio Adams, who happened to have a large blue slushie in his hands.

Rachel never even had time to blink before she was doused with the slushie. She had the bright blue, freezing cold liquid pouring down both the front and back of her brand new black and white zebra sweater. Now, not only was she cold, hurt and upset, but she was furious! She was well beyond her last straw! They had finally broken her!

As both boys, who are well over 6ft tall, towered over her 5ft frame laughing, she was boiling with a rage that Rachel Barbara Berry has never felt in all her 17 years on earth.

After she wipes blue slushie out of her eyes, Rachel suddenly, and without thinking, grabs Azimio Adams by the arms and kicks him as hard as she can in the balls! His face scrunches up, and he falls to his knees, keeled over in pain. Karofski, in shock, stops laughing and just stares at Rachel, mouth agape.

Everyone in the hallway who was standing around, pointing, and laughing at her after the slushie attack were stunned into silence upon witnessing what she did. Rachel had been standing there quite shocked herself, but she quickly regains her senses and takes off to the girls locker room. She was thanking her lucky stars for the self defense class she took over the summer. She was also thankful that both jocks were too shocked to react.

When she reaches the false safety of the girls locker room, she slowly peels off her already sticky clothes and grabs a towel from her locker. And with this currently being her study period, Rachel is able to take a shower. She slowly washes out all the blue food coloring from her hair and skin as best she can. She gets out of the shower, wraps herself in the towel, and gathers her Emergency Slushie Kit from her locker.

Her mind was racing, and she was scared because she'd never done anything like that before. She abhors violence and can't believe she stooped to their level. Her fathers will probably be furious with her when they find out, not to mention, what would Principal Figgins say?

But even more than being afraid, she was sad. It saddened her that daily slushies and harassment had become such a recurring theme throughout her high school career. She, like all the other "unpopular" students, should not have a need for an E.S.K. Something has got to be done about that stupid slushie machine! Ever the optimist, she thinks maybe a petition would help.

While Rachel finishes getting dressed, and pondering these thoughts, she doesn't hear the locker room door open and close. She doesn't hear the footsteps leading over to where she was. She doesn't notice the taller girl standing just behind her.

She had just finished dressing by pulling her argyle sweater vest over her white button down shirt. She had them paired with a dark blue skirt and MaryJanes. She suddenly looked up startled, and her face fell as she saw who was hovering over her with arms crossed. Upon seeing that smirk on the taller girl's face, Rachel sighed and muttered to herself, "Why won't this day from hell just end already?!"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****Happy Holidays! I should have the next ch. up soon. Thanks again and hope you enjoy. Please review and tell me what you think!**

Looking directly into the eyes of a smirking giant can be a frightening ordeal at the best of times, so Rachel tried to stay calm as she pointed her gaze straight ahead, instead of above her

"What's up runt, I mean Rachel?" The wrestler asked.

Rachel lets out a long sigh, but doesn't look up. "I'm ok Lauren. How are you?"

"I'm doing great actually! I just beat the crap out of Ronnie Smith for talkin smack! And that jerkoff never even seen me coming! Haha!" She continued.

Rachel finally looked at Lauren Zizes for seemingly the first time since she's met her. An idea was forming but she needed more information from the wrestler first.

"Lauren, how did you manage to "beat the crap" out of Ronnie Smith? Isn't he like twice even your size?" Rachel asked.

"What do you mean twice "even my size" pipsqueak." Zizes raises her eyebrows in challenge, completely forgetting about the original question.

"I'm sorry Lauren if I offended you. I was not implying anything about your size in a negative way, believe me. I was merely trying to ascertain how you managed to beat up the biggest boy in our school, who I might add is a terrible bully." Rachel stated patiently, and looked at Zizes for her answer.

The wrestler just shrugged, and replied, "He just underestimated me that's all. But I guarantee he'll never do that again. Hehehe."

The smaller girl just sat there and looked at Lauren, mouth agape. She momentarily forgot that she had a purpose for continuing this line of questioning. She hated violence, and yet here she was, for the second time in one day, contemplating acts of violence. What would her idol, Barbara Streisand, think if she knew?

She quickly shook these thoughts away and asked, "So, Lauren, what will happen when Principal Figgins finds out about you hurting Ronnie?"

"That idiot's not hurt, maybe stunned and embarrassed haha! But I didn't do too much damage to him. And Figgins, me and him have a special understanding, hehe, it's called don't ask, don't tell, cause I got all kinds of dirt on him!"

"I'm not the president of the AV club for no reason pipsqueak!" Zizes bragged.

"And why are you asking all these questions anyway?" The wrestler says, narrowing her eyes at Rachel suspiciously.

"I apologize Lauren if it seems as though I might be prying into your business. I assure you I don't want to know what dirt you have on Figgins, even if I am a bit intrigued." Rachel stated, with hands raised.

She decided to play to the wrestler's ego. "Obviously, you are one of the strongest people, boy or girl at this school, as proved by your fighting, er wrestling abilities."

"You are clearly also one of the smartest people at this school, as shown in your ability to successfully run the AV club, not to mention gathering whatever salacious intel you have on our principal." The shorter girl continues, while looking directly at Zizez now.

"I'm also rather fond of your..."

"Quit your babbling pipsqueak!" Zizez interrupts her.

"Just say what the hell you want Berry before I lose my mind!" She huffs out. She crosses her arms again, and looks expectantly at Rachel.

Rachel looks down again. She gathers her courage, before she looks back up and blurts out, "Would I be able to persuade you to be my personal bodyguard?!"

Lauren Zizez has rarely, if ever been lost for words. She stares down at the girl sitting on that locker room bench in front of her like she was a spaceship that had just landed right in front of her eyes.

When Zizez finally recovers her senses, she simply says "no" and starts walking away.

Rachel, undeterred, gets up and starts to follow her further into the girls locker room.

"Please Lauren, I will pay you! I-I mean it won't be much, but I really need your help! I'm being bullied, and harassed, and slushied everyday!" Rachel warily continues.

"It's the Cheerios, and jocks, like Dave Karovski! I've been slushied everyday by one of these people since my freshmen year of high school." Rachel continues quietly. She is on the verge of tears now, and Luaren Zizes has stopped trying to get away, but not yet turned to face her.

"I found out last year that it was Quinn Fabray, the Head Cheerio, who had ordered for me to be slushied everyday since freshman year. That's approximately 490 slushies so far and we've only just begun our senior year." The tears had started falling at this point, but the small girl continued.

"I didn't even know who Quinn was before I came to McKinley. I don't even know what I could have done to make her hate me so much." She sniffles.

Zizes at this point has turned to face Rachel, and is just watching her, head twisting to get a better look at her.

"Out of everyone who harasses me, Santana Lopez is the worst, and for some reason, she takes the hatred she has for me to another level. Even when we went to grade school she was never nice to me, but it seems that now, it's far worse than before. She's become very good at tormenting me." Rachel states, tears flowing freely.

"I used to tell myself that they're jealous because I'm better than they are, you know, more talented," she continued.

"When I thought about singing on Broadway, it would help me not to hurt so much when they would throw slushies on me, and call me those horrible names. But the truth is, my talent hasn't helped me gain one single friend at this school.

"And I know that even the other kids in glee only tolerate me. Haha! Lauren, I'm even aware that you didn't like me much, while you were in glee."

"Touché Berry, Touché!" The wrestler chimes in.

"Look," she walks closer to Zizes. "I'm not asking for you to be my friend, or even like me, but I really need your help! Please Lauren! I don't think I can handle being harassed everyday for one more year." She adds softly.

Rachel is looking at the bigger girl in earnest now. She was sad and upset. She was also embarressed that she had lost control and cried like that to Zizes, who for all she knew, probably hates her as much as Quinn and Santana do.

Lauren Zizes was just standing in the middle of the girls locker room staring at Rachel. She had her arms crossed and looked unconvinced. During her worst days in glee club, the little diva could not remember the bigger girl looking more intimidating, and she shivered involuntarily.

Though the smaller girl had wiped her eyes dry, the occasional tear still escaped. She gave Zizes one final glance, and then decided that she would no longer stand here and further humiliate herself, so she turned to leave.

Before Rachel made it out the locker room door, she heard the wrestler say "I'll do it."

She squealed and ran back into the locker room and jumped at Zizes, attempting to wrap her up in a hug, but she couldn't quite fit her arms around the bigger girl. After Zizes pushed the small girl an arms length away, she straightened herself to full height.

"Ok there are some ground rules Berry!"

"Yes Lauren, please tell me what they are so that I will not violate the terms." Rachel said, as she took out a pen and notepad from her bag.

"Rule number one: No more hugs!" Zizes emphasized while pointing a finger at the small girl.

"Rule number two: I'm not rejoining your glee club, so don't try asking!"

"Rule number three: I will walk you to and from classes, and lunch, and glee in school but once the day is over, you're on your own."

"Rule number four: I won't be with you 24/7 because of my own obligations, so if I tell you not to go into a certain area of the school, I expect you to listen."

"Rule number five: If a situation breaks out, you stay quiet and let me handle it!"

"Ok Luaren." Rachel was scribbling furiously in her notebook to get everything the wrestler said down on paper.

"Rule number six: I get paid $100 per week, and bonuses for anything extra!"

"Rule number seven: You will pay me every Friday before school ends."

"Rule number eight: We start tomorrow. I'll meet you at the front doors first thing in the morning.

When she didn't hear anymore rules, Rachel looked up from her notebook. Zizes was looking straight ahead with her thumb and forefinger on her chin in contemplation.

"Ok, that's all I got for now Berry, but I reserve my right to add more rules later if I need to!"

"Completely understood Lauren! Thank you so much for helping me with this! And, if it's alright with you, I'm going to have to run this by my fathers so that I can ask for an increase in my weekly allowance." The smaller girl stated with a big smile on her face.

"Whatever Berry, as long as I get paid on time." Zizes shrugged her shoulders while looking down at the little diva.

And with that, the wrestler was about to leave. So as Zizes was preparing to walk out the door, Rachel called out to her.

"Lauren, can I ask you one last question?"

"What is it Berry? I gotta go!"

"Why did you decide to help me with this?"

Lauren Zizes turned around, looked the diva directly in the eyes and said, "I fuckin hate those Cheerio bitches too, especially Santana!" And then, she strode out the locker room door.

The rest of that day got noticeably better for Rachel, because her remaining classes were easy, and she hadn't run into any jocks or Cheerios thus far. She was looking forward to glee because it was her favorite part of the day and also the close of a very long and trying day.

As she made her way to glee, she walked through the nearly empty hallways towards the choir room. She decided to stop in the girls restroom to freshen up before glee. As soon as she walked in, she could hear voices. One was sniffling and the other appeared to be trying to comfort her. She knew right away who those voices coming from the furthest stall belonged to and they stopped her in her tracks.

"Please B! I'm sorry!" Santana was pleading.

"No San! You can't just say sorry and think I forgive you! Brittany raised her voice slightly.

"I tried apologizing to the hobbit, B honest!"

"Well, you didn't try hard enough!" The blond hissed. "She told me everything you said today, and it was still mean San!"

"Why do I need to apologize to Manhands anyway! It's not like she deserves it."

"Santana you promised me that you were gonna say sorry to her." Rachel could hear the genuine sadness in Brttany's voice.

Santana just huffed and said, "So you're really not gonna give me any of your special lady kisses Baby?"

"No." Britt replied simply. And though Rachel couldn't see her, she imagined Britt with her arms crossed over chest.

"Come on Baby." Santana lowered her voice seductively. "You know you can't resist my sweet kisses."

Soon, the exchange of lips on body parts could be heard through out the restroom, and Rachel stood stock still in the middle of the room. "So much for Brittany standing firm." Rachel thought, as their kissing quickly went from lip smacking to moaning. Rachel decided she'd heard enough, and turns to head toward the door, just as it bangs open.

"Berry! What are you doing in here just standing there?" Quinn said as she moved into the restroom, looking confused at Rachel.

In the blink of an eye, Santana banged the door of their stall open, and was flying out of said stall toward Rachel. The tall blond trailed right behind her.

"Santana no, stop!" Brit grabbed her from behind.

"You little bitch, I'm gonna fucking strangle you! How dare you!" The angry Latina spat, reaching out for Rachel, who jumped back.

Lucky for Rachel, who seemed rooted to he spot, Britt was holding Santana tightly, but her grip was slipping.

"Quinn! Help me!" Britt shouted at the Head Cheerio.

"Rachel get outta hear now!" Quinn shouted at Rachel, who only seemed to just realize her life was in peril.

The little brunette didn't need to be told twice to get out of there, so Rachel fled through the door and into the hallway. She just ran, and didn't stop to go to glee practice. She didn't stop until she reached her car. She got in and drove herself home. She didn't stop shaking until late that evening, after the tears had completely dried.

She finished her nightly routine early and settled onto her bed. She looked on her nightstand to check her phone and saw a text from Kurt.

Kurt: Rachel I'm worried about you.

Kurt: It's not like you to miss glee. Are you ok?

Kurt: We need to talk first thing tomorrow.

She didn't want him worrying any more, so she quickly sent him a reply.

Rachel: Kurt I'm fine. We will talk tomorrow and I will explain everything.

She promptly turned off her phone and laid down on her bed and snuggled under the blanket. Just before Rachel finally drifted off to sleep, she hoped tomorrow would be the start of better things to come.


End file.
